Rainfall which runs off the land in the City is collected by ditches in the rural areas, and by roof drains, catch basins, lawn drains, and some ditches in the urban area. It is conveyed by ditches or underground pipes to nearby watercourses. The quality of the flow in the runoff is adversely impacted by human-generated pollutants from both urban and rural activities.
Protection of the City’s fisheries sensitive watercourses is an important environmental objective. Recent advances in ways to improve the quality of urban runoff are being reviewed and added to the City’s development requirements. As new infrastructure is built, water quality devices are added to screen out some of the pollutants.
For infrastructure that is already built, City activities such as street sweeping and catch basin cleaning help keep pollutants out of downstream creeks and streams. But, there is definitely a role each resident can play, by:
- minimizing herbicide and pesticide use on lawn and garden areas;
- washing cars on lawn areas, not on driveways and roads;
- recycling used oils and antifreeze, and not dumping them in catch-basins; and
- keeping topsoil deliveries off the street